


Under the Willow Tree

by CupcakePaints



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Romance, Cute, Daddy Issues, Dating, Disapproving Family, F/M, Family Drama, Fluff, Forbidden Love, Pre-War, Secret Relationship, The Surface (Undertale), Toriel Likes Puns, Young Toriel, young asgore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:00:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25562485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CupcakePaints/pseuds/CupcakePaints
Summary: Before the two races were separated, two young goat monsters are very much in love. But their relationship is difficult when it has to be kept a secret. They know that the King will not allow a marriage between his son and the descendant of a noble family that has made many mistakes. But they can't keep their meetings secret forever. How will they overcome the struggles that come with their forbidden love?
Relationships: Asgore Dreemurr/Toriel
Comments: 12
Kudos: 14





	1. A Date of Sorts

A tall figure darts through the halls of the castle. The sun rays flash across them as they run past the windows. The soft thud of padded feet follow the goat monster, his cape flowing behind him. _I hope I won’t be late!_ He thought, as he narrowly avoided a vase with flowers. He lets out a few exclamations of “Sorry!” and “Pardon me!” as he rushes past different residents and workers in the castle. Finally he makes it to the stairway. He takes the steps two at a time and quickly opens the door at the bottom.

He slows his pace as he enters into the castle garden and courtyard, breathing in the fresh air, and the scent of flowers. The bells chime 3 o’clock and the white goat monster breathes a sigh of relief. _Made it haha._ He strides over to a large oak tree and leans against it. He messes with his blonde bangs as they keep falling in his face. _Guess I should get my hair trimmed._ He muses, just thankful the rest of his long hair is in a ponytail at the moment. A cool breeze blows and amongst the rustling of the leaves a faint humming is heard. His ears perk up at the sound and he begins to whistle along to the familiar tune. Not a minute passes before a young female goat monster turns the corner. She stops right next to him.

“Good day Lady Ustrina.” Asgore says turning to face her. He kisses the back of her hand.

“Good day to you as well Prince Dreemurr.” Toriel responds warmly, giving a curtsy. They give each other friendly smiles.

“Lovely weather today, the flowers are blooming quite nicely.”

“Indeed, they are quite beautiful. They most certainly do cheer up my day.”

“Are they… the only things that cheer up your day?” Asgore, gives her a sheepish grin, and looks at her out of the corner of his eye. Toriel blushes, then turns from him.

“I suppose not.” She replies, hiding a smile. Both Asgore and Toriel quickly glance around the courtyard for any sign of someone who might see them. After confirming they were alone Asgore grabs Toriel by the hand and leads her to a nearby weeping willow. Once again they glance about, then they quickly brush the branches aside and go in, they are blocked from view by a curtain of leaves. Hidden from the world, here in their special place, they hold hands.

“Asgore, we can’t keep meeting like this. What if your father finds out?”

“Let him find out.” Asgore replies playfully.

“You can’t mean that! He will not approve of me.”

“Of course he will! We just… have to give it time.” He kisses her hand again, but in a more loving manner. “Besides I don’t care what my father thinks. I love you, and that’s all that matters.”

“If only things were so simple.” Worry is prominent on her face. “Then I wouldn’t be so hesitant about us meeting here. What if he catches us?”

“Toriel, come on. We checked, there’s no one out there who could have seen us. Just relax alright?” She lets out a sigh, then nods.

After a pause Toriel inquires, “How goes your studies?”

“Ah… yes.” Asgore lets out a groan. “Frightfully slow, and excruciatingly dull. I’m only really interested in one subject, the rest it’s a battle to only stay awake!”

“Hmmm at least you are allowed to study botany, even though it’s not as ‘Princely’ as your other subjects right? When you said they allowed it I couldn’t be _leaf_ it!” She holds back a snicker, as Asgore laughs. She always had a way of making him laugh, that was one of the things he loved about her.

“How about you? How are your studies coming along?”

“Same as yours, I fear. Quite boring. I think the most fun I’ve had was when I got to train with magic, and practice some patterns. It was a nice change from just learning about them.”

“Yes indeed. We should spar sometime so you can show me some of your moves.”

“Ha! If meeting up in the garden could get us caught, imagine what an immense amount of magic from the two of us could cause!” 

“Oh dear I believe you’re right!” He responds with a chuckle. “Sometime I will though. I want to see how strong you are my dear. If you are half as strong as I believe you are, then I will have no need of protecting you.” 

“Excuse me _your highness_ but what makes you think I’d need protecting in the first place!” She gives him a playful smile.

“Oh my, I’ve gotten myself into a pickle haven’t I.” He laughs, awkwardly messing with his bangs again. He bows to her. “Please forgive me my fair lady, for I have made assumptions.”

Toriel begins to giggle. “Oh stand up you big buffoon.” He does so and his bangs now shift to completely cover his eyes. He resembles a shaggy dog. The female monster laughs so much she snorts, causing Asgore to laugh as well. She reaches up and affectionately brushes his hair aside. “You need to trim your hair, your royal goofiness.”

He chuckles, “I’ll make a note of it.” Asgore sits down on the grass at the base of the tree, and beckons to Toriel to do the same. She sits down on her knees and examines a ladybug crawling up the tree trunk.

“So any news?” She asks. “Seems like there’s always _something_ going on, especially when we’d rather some peace and quiet.”

“My father is trying to find a bride for me again.”

Asgore could hear Toriel’s spirits drop. “Again? …has he… found any suitable suitors?”

“According to him, yes. But I cannot accept them. There is no one else for me. You are my bright lily, you bring me happiness and light. I love you with all my heart, and I will not rest until the day I get to marry you. I will make father accept you. And I know that when he gives you a chance he will love you!”

“I’m… not so sure. Your father seems quite… cold.”

“He… is somewhat. But he wishes for my wellbeing! And he does not like to show affection, but I still feel that he cares for me… at the very least, I hope he does…” Asgore then begins to lose himself in thought.

Toriel puts her hand on his, snapping him out of it. “How could he not care for someone as wonderful as you? Well, I know I love you, and I will wait however long I need to. I just wish you would stop taking unnecessary risks! Like with this meeting!”

“What about this meeting is unnecessary?” 

“What exactly about this meeting is necessary?”

“That is simple. I needed to see you.” He gives a crooked smile, leading her to giggle again.

“Well _eye_ don’t see the necessity in that!” She points to her eye while speaking. They both laugh.

“Well, when I don’t see you for long enough, then the world just seems to be less colorful, more dull. I needed to see you my dear! I hate how little time we are able to spend together.”

“As do I Asgore! But we still must be careful.”

“Of course. We will be. But please, don’t think of these encounters as unnecessary risks. If I could think of another way to see you without father’s suspicion I would do so. But as of right now this is the only way.”

“Yes Asgore, I understand that.” She sighs “I won’t. I enjoy them anyways.”

“As do I.”

There they sit, enjoying each other’s company. Longing for the day they won’t have to hide anymore. But right now that is just a dream. They sit in silence until the bell tolls yet again, telling them that it is now four.

“We’d best be going.” Asgore says, standing up. His voice is laced with melancholy. “When shall we meet again?” He helps Toriel up.

“Same time next Friday?” She suggests.

“I believe that works for me.” He smiles.

Toriel gives him a parting kiss on the cheek, and peeks out of the branches. “All clear.” She states, before walking out of the branches. Asgore trails behind her, but stops when his horns get stuck on the willow branches. With a laugh Toriel helps him untangle himself from the tree. Once free Asgore gives a sheepish smile as a thank you and they both say quick goodbyes as they walk in opposite directions.

Both worry for what the future may hold, but both happily think of their next meeting. And they eagerly await the next time they shall both sit under the willow tree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this is a thing I decided to start on a whim late one night. I've been considering the idea for a while though. This is my headcanon and I'm planning on both adding more chapters to this, and making this canon for some other Undertale fanworks I want to make in the future. I have no idea when I'll be working on or posting any other chapters, but they should get done... eventually. Anyway, thank you for reading!


	2. An Interruption

Finally, after what felt like a month despite it only being a week, Friday had come. Asgore had been fidgeting all through his lessons. He got in trouble a couple times for not paying attention. But it was so hard to focus! His mind was full of daydreams, and schemes. He was thinking of conversations to have with Toriel, and of ways that they could convince his father to let them marry. He even at one point, during a particularly boring history lesson, thought of the two of them running away together and eloping. He must’ve had a distracted smile on his face because the next thing he heard was-

“Prince Asgore are you listening?” Professor Krawle, the beetle monster historian, glared at him quite annoyed. Asgore immediately snaps out of it.

“Uh yes sir!” he replies.

“Oh really? What was the last thing I said?” Asgore could either go the direct path, or the snarky path. He glances at the clock and seeing he still had a while to go before his time would be up, chose the latter option. The less time he actually had to listen to these boring stories the better.

“Sir the last thing you said was ‘Prince Asgore are you listening?’” he answers. Doing his best to hide the grin slowly creeping on his face. Krawle’s glare immediately turns into a scowl. 

“Don’t get smart with me,  _ your highness _ .”

“Isn’t that what is supposed to happen with these classes? It’s your job to make me get smart right?” Asgore could feel the anger radiating off of his teacher.

“It is my job to teach you history. Not to deal with your sass.” 

Asgore bursts out laughing. “I’m sorry Professor. I was just having a bit of fun.” Krawle is unamused.

“Yes well, ‘fun’ doesn’t help you learn the history of magic amongst humans… now does it?” Krawle responds, stiff as usual.

“I-... no Professor. Although it might make the lessons more interesting.” the Prince chuckles.

“If you were listening you might actually see how interesting it is. Or you might  _ at least  _ see the importance in learning history.”

“I prefer to look to the future.” Asgore replies under his breath.

“One who looks to the future without reflecting on the past is bound to repeat mistakes, your highness. And a future ruler should know what mistakes to avoid.” Krawle gives Asgore his famous serious look, his antennae-like eyebrows raised and his body stiff. A look that somehow says “I’m annoyed with you, but I still want you to learn”. Upon receiving this look from his teacher, Asgore sighs, defeated.

“Now, your highness, tell me the last thing you remember from our lesson.”

“Um…” Asgore gave a thoughtful look. “You were talking about human monster relations in the time of King Arthur… and uh… about Merlin’s study of monster magic in cooperation with wizardry?” he answered hesitantly, hoping that he hadn’t gotten something wrong. Krawle gave a sigh, and from the way he held the bridge of his nose, Asgore could tell that he had, indeed, missed something.

“Your highness… you have missed half the chapter.” Asgore slumps in his chair. “Oh well. We shall go over this again. And this time my prince, please try to keep your head here and not somewhere else? Hmm?”

“...Yes Professor.”

* * *

  
  


Asgore was able to get through the rest of his history lesson without too much trouble, and managed to keep somewhat attentive throughout his etiquette class. He enjoyed his botany lesson as usual, and finished right at a quarter to three. 

_ Finally,  _ he thought.  _ I’m done with classes until my magic class this evening.  _ He stood at one of the grand windows in the hall nearby the garden entrance. The afternoon sunlight poured into the room, bouncing off the floor and furnishings. Asgore felt the warmth of the sunlight on his fur, enjoying it’s comforting glow. He began to lose himself in thought yet again, but this time without the worry of a teacher’s glare bringing him back to reality. His mind wandered back to the thought that had been interrupted during history. Running away and eloping.  _ We could finally be together. I could become a farmer, or a florist. No one would have to know who we are. We wouldn’t have responsibilities. We wouldn’t have to worry about father’s judgement. We’d be free! Free to live our lives together!  _ His smile grows as he thinks about it. 

He holds onto the feeling this idea gives him. One of potential happiness. One of the perfect life… then he opens his eyes. As much as he’d like to live in this fantasy world, he forces himself back into reality. He rests his elbow on the windowsill, his chin resting on the palm of his paw. He gives a deep sigh.  _ That would never work. I should think realistically. I’m a Prince, and she’s a Lady.  _ **_Someone_ ** _ would come after us. Even if we managed to run off and get married, we’d spend the rest of our lives running. We’d never have any peace, and we’d always be pursued. I’m the heir to the throne after all…  _ This thought in particular made Asgore wince. He absolutely did not like the idea of being the future king. He wished that he could give up his position to someone else. He felt like… he didn’t… he…  _ I can’t be responsible for so many lives. If I mess up… it’ll hurt more people than just me. The pressure is just… I’ll be crushed, suffocated. Trapped.  _ He shook his head. Having returned to the present, he gazes out the window. Two swallows swoop past the window, flitting and darting about in a complicated dance. They glide apart and back together, and eventually land side by side on an oak branch in view of the window. They were able to always return to each other, no matter how far one flew from the other.

Asgore gave a small smile.  _ Oh for life to be so simple as for the swallows. _ He glances down at his feet then back out the window, his smile more wistful.  _ Running away wouldn’t solve anything. Besides, I couldn’t do that to Toriel. It would be selfish of me to ask her to leave her family and live a life of restlessness. I know how close she is to them.  _ He laughs, as if to convince himself  _ It’s a foolish idea. _ As Asgore takes one last look out the window he realizes how much time he’s lost.  _ Darn! It must be nearly 3 now!  _ He turns and begins a bit of a run.  _ I might actually be late this time  _ he thought. Just as he turned the corner and was about to descend the stairs which led to the garden, a voice stopped him dead in his tracks. Deep, feminine, and stern.

“Asgore. Where are you off to in such a hurry?” The voice says. A very familiar voice, one Asgore knew very well.

“Oh! Uh… Shadrin! I’m heading to the… um… garden?” he replies, pointing to the door and trying his very best not to look guilty of anything. He turns to face the owner of the voice, avoiding eye contact. The tall goat monster was dressed in a dark green velvet dress, a golden sash around her waist, a golden necklace with the royal seal around her neck, her dark hair braided along the sides, and her eyes full of extreme suspicion. Just then the bells announced the coming of the hour. 3 o’clock. _I’m definitely going to be late._

“Why such a hurry?” she inquires. Inspecting him with a look, and standing hand on her hip.

“Well I…” He tries to think of the right words. He hates lying, but he can’t really tell her the truth right now. “I’m just really eager to get to the garden is all.” He technically  _ is  _ very eager to get to the garden.

“Mhmm. And you have to hurry there… because?”

“I uh… have some free time so I’m… um… I’m in a hurry to get to relaxing. It’s been a stressful studying day thus far.”

“Oh, I see. Brother, you are… interesting. Running to get to relaxing.” Asgore looks his sister over, looking for any sign that she isn’t buying his story, she was always difficult to judge. But he’s pretty sure she’s accepting his behavior as due to the tiredness of studying. She knew that as well as he. She was the princess after all, she went through many of the same classes as he did. She watched him with her deep green eyes, a somewhat sympathetic look in them.

Asgore tries his best not to look frantic. _ I need to get out there and meet Toriel but I don’t want Shadrin snooping around. I need to throw her off track.  _ He  t hought quickly and decided to turn her questions against her.

“Why do you ask?”

“Hmm?”

“Why do you seem so interested in my business all of a sudden?”

“Oh… well…” Her stern look immediately falls and she grins. “Haha, I’m bored. I wanted to know what my little brother was up to.” She begins playing with a lock of her hair. She was quite beautiful, even Asgore had to admit that his sister was nice looking. She did take after their mother after all. The green eyes, dark hair, and nice smile. All reminded him of their mother. He, unfortunately in his opinion, took after their father when it came to looks. At least he somewhat got his gentle disposition from his mother. His sister was always a bit rougher.

“Well now you know what I’m up to… May I go about my business?”

“You may. As soon as you give me an idea for something to do. I’m still quite bored.”

Asgore chuckles. “Perhaps a book from the library? I read one recently that you might enjoy. It’s a literary adaptation of a play written by a certain William Shakespeare.”

“Oh no. Not Romeo and Juliet. You know I can’t stand romance stories.” she states, scrunching up her nose.

“No, I know. I was going to suggest another one of his plays called The Merchant of Venice. It was quite entertaining, and there are a few parts I’m certain you’ll enjoy.” He gave her a smile.

“Well in that case brother, I shall take your advice.” And with that she begins walking down the hall to the library. But before Asgore had the chance to take off she added, shouting, “Have fun relaxing Asgore! I shall meet you later tonight for magic practice!” And with that she was gone. Asgore breathes a sigh of relief, then realizes he’s late and rushes out into the garden.  _ Toriel will have some things to say to me about being late. I just hope she isn’t too mad! _

He ran out, looking around frantically, but didn’t see her anywhere. Making sure no one was watching, he checks one last place. He walks up to the willow tree and begins whistling a tune, a humming joins in from within the branches and he knew at once that Toriel was already inside their hiding place. He slowly comes in, making sure there are no gaps in the natural drapes. And there they are yet again, hidden from the rest of the world. He sits down only then noticing Toriel sitting with her back to him, she’s silent.  _ Yep she’s mad alright. _ He thinks of how to break the tension. He leans back on the tree trunk and knocks on it.

“Knock knock.” he says, eagerly awaiting to see if she’ll play along.

“Who’s there?” she replies, with her back still to him.

“Catch.”

“Catch who?”

“Gesundheit.” Asgore says, smile on his face. Toriel soon begins laughing.

“Did you come up with that one yourself?”

“I did. Do you like it?” He looks at her.

“Very much.”

“Are you… still mad?” At this she turns around and looks at him.

“I won’t be if you tell me what kept you.”

“I had some difficulties getting here.”

“That much was apparent, you’ve never been this late before. I was worried you might have been discovered. And I didn’t want to raise suspicion by strolling around the same tree three times so…”

“You hid.” Asgore finishes. Toriel nods. “I’m sorry Toriel. I, well, I ran into a certain sister of mine.”

“Shadrin? Did she ask you anything?”

“She asked me where I was going in such a hurry. It wasn’t easy getting her to throw away her queries, but I believe she isn’t suspicious.”

“Thank goodness. I’m glad that everything is alright.”

“Me too.

“I was worried sick! But... that was a decent explanation I suppose. I am not mad at you anymore.” She picks up his hand and leans against the tree trunk beside him. He chuckles.

“And I am glad of that.”

“How did studies go?”

“Oh let me tell you about studies.” He laughs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was nervous introducing Shadrin in this chapter, because she's a character that I've had stewing in my mind for quite a while, and hadn't written anything down for her before haha. She'll be appearing more in later chapters, along with some other characters. And yes, she's the oldest out of her and Asgore, yet Asgore is the heir. I'll be explaining this also in a later chapter.  
> Also! I totally made up Professor Krawle on the spot, but now I really like him? Haha who knows, he might be returning as well ;)  
> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Again I have no idea when the next chapter will get posted.


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